Solar Energy Corp plans pilot projects at 2,555 cr

Newly formed public sector company Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) plans to call for bids for four pilot solar thermal power projects, requiring an investment of about Rs 2,555 crore. The projects have been sanctioned viability gap funding (VGF) of Rs 1,020 crore and the bidders who seek the least funding will bag the projects.

In a year, SECI will throw these projects for international competitive bidding. It is targeting a tariff of Rs 5.83 per kwhr, fixed over a 25-year period. The projects will be of varied technologies (within solar thermal) and will come up in Gujarat (35 mw), Rajasthan (40 mw), Tamil Nadu (25 mw) and Andhra Pradesh (20 mw). The new projects are in line with SECI’s mandate to foster the development of technology.

While the Rajasthan project will experiment with a hybrid cooling system, the one in Gujarat will try to work at higher operating temperatures, of over 500 degrees Celsius. The other two plants will seek to develop technologies for extended hours of heat storage.